The Hindu : New Delhi News : Congress Sewa Dal workers fear dissolution of Delhi unit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 10, 2007
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New Delhi

Congress Sewa Dal workers fear dissolution of Delhi unit

Staff Reporter

"Despite being termed `the backbone' of the party, it has not been getting its due"

NEW DELHI: After being denied even a single party ticket in the recent Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections, Congress Sewa Dal activists in the Capital are apprehending dissolution of the city unit. All the more so now after they voiced their protest at being treated shabbily and vowed to approach party president Sonia Gandhi with their grievances.

A senior functionary of the Sewa Dal said that in the last MCD elections when there were 134 seats up for election, the Congress ticket was given to ten workers of the voluntary organisation, but this time not a single ticket was given to the cadre though the number of seats in the MCD has shot up to 272.

"Four days ago, the workers met at the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters to discuss why the frontal organisation that had been founded over 90 years ago and had been described by Rajiv Gandhi as the backbone of the Congress was now being neglected," said a Sewa Dal functionary.

"The organisation," he said, "is effective in nine of the 12 districts of Delhi and has over 15,000 dedicated cadre. These are men who are ever prepared to don the white shirt, pant and cap for the party and to work for it whenever their services are required. But unfortunately, while the Sewa Dal is as important for the Congress as the RSS is for the BJP, it has not been getting its due."

Issue discussed

So the members decided to meet again on Monday to discuss the issue and it was then that they criticised the DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma for ignoring their interests.

However, they said, the meeting that was led by additional president of Delhi Sewa Dal Jaipal Sharma and Delhi in-charge Amarjeet Singh had some people who did not agree with the idea of meeting Ms. Gandhi over the issue.

"These people are close to the DPCC president and they are now trying to convince Sewa Dal national president Prahlad Yadav to dissolve the Delhi unit so that our protests do not reach the Congress president," complained another functionary who was present at the meetings.

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